The third wheel, the vigilante and the tsundere in a maid's outfit
by Cherries of the Perdition
Summary: Gazel is the third wheel in her social life. But her meaningless existence changed forever when she meets The Azure Death, a cryptic hero whose identity nobody knows. Then she meets a boy called Nagumo Haruya, who works at a local maid cafe. Soon she finds herself torn between an irrational attraction and growing affection for a tsundere. Nagumo X Fem!Gazel, and Fem!Gazel X Unknown
1. Chapter 1- The Azure Death

**A/N- This is my first fanfic. As you will have read in the description, the plot to this story is a bit messed up, but I hope you can stick around and enjoy how it unfolds.**

 **Nagumo X Fem!Suzuno, as well as Fem!Suzuno X (?)**

 **I don't own Inazuma Eleven, or any of the characters.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **/**

My name is Suzuno Fuusuke. Right now, I am the ultimate third wheel.

It all began when my two best friends started dating each other…

His name is Kira Hiroto. Her name is Midorikawa Ryuuji. They are truly amazing people- Hiroto is extremely charming, and Midorikawa never fails to be cheerful. We had been friends, the three of us, for quite some time- since kindergarten, in fact.

However, after some time, those two realised that the relationship they wanted was no mere friendship. Don't get me wrong, this is not jealousy- I do not feel for Hiroto that way myself (nor for Midorikawa, either). And they still are my best friends. But since the beginning, I have felt a lot of times that I was in the way.

 **/**

I remember that I had been watching TV, and they were out on the balcony…

At that time I had thought nothing about it. Hiroto loved being out on the balcony- no matter what the weather, temperature or season. He had regularly sat there, doing schoolwork, using his phone, drinking coffee since we had moved to the new apartment we were currently lodging in. And Midorikawa loved the stars; they were shining brilliantly that night. But there was a confession to be made at that scene, and an acceptance too.

They took their sweet time outside, and in that time I just simply showered and got ready for bed. In fact, they tell me, by the time that they had returned indoors, I had already fallen asleep. I don't know how I slept that night. Perhaps I shifted a little, just a bit, because my subconscious mind knew that our friendships were going to change.

 **/**

Now I often found myself out of place.

We would go to see a film by our favourite film director together, and then I would find out it was a romance movie; things would get awkward, with Midorikawa on Hiroto's lap, the two of them 'distracted', and I just sitting there, finishing all of the popcorn while trying to ignore the kissing sounds.

Or we would have a science project from school. With us three being us three, we would choose to be a trio. The only problem: it would be a project based on reproduction. And I would sit there, being the only virgin (Don't even get me started on the times I hear the bed creaking violently at night. The first time, I thought the beds were remote-controlled robot monstrosities, but, on nearing the room, I heard moans, put two and two together, and realised that my friends were _lewd_ ).

Yeah…Far from a fun and enjoyable experience.

 **/**

I had looked for any potential boyfriends. And they had helped me. Hell, they had even tried setting me up with a few other girls. But with none of them had the connection felt right. They were usually half-week flings, and none were lasting. But, of course, there were no tensions between the three of us, just awkwardness, so we continued with our daily lives.

Let us now return to the present…

 **/**

I sighed as I got on the bus that I took to my workplace. I sat there, and decided to do some maths revision for the test coming up the following week. I went with easiest first, and soon reached basic sequences with easy examples of the nth formula. I read the first question:

 _Diva Lu wears necklaces with links and fake diamonds. In a necklace with five fake diamonds, she has seven links. In a necklace with fourteen fake diamonds, she has sixteen links. In a necklace with one hundred and two links, how many fake diamonds are there?_

 _This is easy_ , I thought, as I neatly wrote down my working out on the paper.

 _Fake diamond = d_

 _Link = l_

 _5d - 7l_

 _14d - 16l_

 _Nth term: l = n+2, when n= the amount of diamonds._

 _l = 102_

 _l = n+2,_

 _102 = n+2_

 _n = 102-2_

 _n = 100_

 _Number of diamonds = 100_

I looked at the other questions in the booklet. I sighed. I hate to boast, but being the top student in our year, they were way too easy. I put the revision packet back into my bag.

 _Diva Lu… What kind of name is that? Oh…that's an anagram for the name Ulvida…_

Ulvida was one of our friends as well. She, along with another friend Desarm, her boyfriend, was a year above us, but we also knew each other as kids, so we often hung out together. In fact, we had been together just yesterday. It must have been quite the sight: _Dezzy and 'Vida, Hiroto and Midorikawa. Two brilliant couples. Oh, and that loner Suzuno Fuusuke as well for background props to the double-date._

I decided to stop wallowing in self-pity. _At least I wasn't the third wheel that time. Wait…_ I thought back to the math question with the nth term. Suddenly, the earth lurched beneath me. The world seemed to turn upside down, inside-out, and the everyday colours seemed more vibrant than ever, as I made the most important scientific discovery of my young life.

 _I am not the third wheel._

…

…

…

 _I am the (n+1)th wheel, when n= the amount of people in the room, not including me._

 ** _/_**

After my anti-climatic epiphany, I decided to do something else, in case I kept wasting my time thinking of such useless things. I picked up the local newspaper of our town, and was shocked by the blaring headline.

 _ **The Azure Death Strikes Again! Another Child Saved, Another Gang Arrested. The Most Astonishing 'Anti-Hero' of our Modern Day is Not Going to Rest!**_

 _The Azure Death, huh…_ As somebody who lived inside the town, the name was beginning to be all too familiar. There were articles on the internet, rumours flying, and policemen scrambling to confirm his identity.

He was a man who roamed the streets, defending citizens at a time where crime was soaring to new heights. Those who had been saved by him were all in awe of his power. It was said that he had inhuman fighting abilities, and he was even rumoured to have shut down small branches of the _Yakuza_ single-handedly by destroying them in 'battle'.

But that was not just it. Although he was said to have the fighting spirit of the greatest warrior, and the physical strength of the strongest brute, he was also an enigma. Nothing about him except his gender was known, and the police were now even investigating to try and confirm his identity. He was a master of his trade- a masked vigilante, with a cape bluer than the lakes in heaven, who swooped in to defend innocent people, and who left just as fast. He left the people in capable hands; when he knew they would be fine, he disappeared swiftly.

This is why he was called an anti-hero. But, nevertheless, of the title, he was praised everywhere, and his deeds, as well as his mystique, gained him innumerable fans (including, unfortunately, fangirls). Although I myself was not one to so readily bow and worship someone I didn't know anything about, I highly appreciated his work for society, and thought it rather unjust that he was compared to villains with the title 'anti-hero'.

I went on social media and read messages written by some of the people he had saved. Besides the obvious ' _unfathomable strength!',_ and gushing admiration which really had no plot, there were also a few other agreements.

' _A god-like aura', w_ as a common thing in his descriptions. He was also, a point of personal intrigue for me, said to be unyielding and wordless.

There were also comments such as _: 'Piercing, glowing eyes'_ which were made quite a lot as well.

 **/**

I finally go off my bus and went to my workplace: _Sun Garden Orphanage_. It was an orphanage for young children, and, incidentally, where I met Hiroto, Ryuuji, Reina (Ulvida's real name), and Osamu (Desarm).

The pay was quite small, and the journey was quite long, but I loved working there. Other than me, Desarm also worked there, as well as our old carer, Kira Hitomiko. The small children were adorable, and help me forget my stress as I worked with them. They were innocent and sweet, and I couldn't love them more. For someone who had been sidelined quite a bit in my own social life, it was a beautiful thing to be able to feel the joy and happiness coming from them, directed at me.

I worked there until 9.30 PM, when it was bedtime for the children. I thanked Hitomiko, and she thanked me back; then I left to go back home.

 **/**

I was walking to the bus stop when it happened. There were about fifteen men, whom I am pretty sure were drunk, so I avoided them as best as I could. But as I walked past them, one of them, probably the ringleader, noticed me. They were onto me in a flash.

"Going somewhere, little lady?"

"You even sure that's a girl? She's flatter than a chopping-board."

"Don't worry, I can smell females from a mile away. To confirm it, why don't we check? Perhaps her boyish appearance will mean she's tighter than the normal bitch."

I cried out in horror as I was surrounded inside the alleyway they pushed me into, and they began pulling buttons loose. In the night on the deserted street, I was completely alone. I bit the hand of the leader.

"You stupid bitch!" I groaned when his hand slapped my face, his ring slashing a cut above my left-eye. I fell to the ground, overwhelmed, and dread washed over me as I heard belts unbuckling, including my own.

 _Its over. I never thought I would lose my virginity this way…I love you, Midori-chan and Hiroto-kun._

 ** _/_**

Suddenly I heard a giant crash above me. I looked up, as did the thugs.

What I saw changed my life forever…

There was a man, a ghostly silhouette against the glowing full moon illuminating him from behind, standing on one of the buildings overseeing the alleyway. No, not ghostly…more…godly. I could suddenly feel the air almost humming. I looked at him, squinting in the light which seemed to pour straight through him from the moon. _Powerfully built, but not completely muscle, like a bodybuilder...black mask and gloves without an inch of skin showing...sea blue cape. It's him...It's The Azure Death!_

And it seemed that the other thugs knew it as well. One of the smaller thugs, a bald, greasy man, tried to run, after almost choking to death as he saw the mask. However, as he reached the opening of the alley, The Beast jumped straight down, fast as lightning, and landed right on top of him, knocking him out cold. Then the two men who had followed the first tried to flank him. He jumped, and pushed himself onto the wall, flipping 180 degrees and using it as a springboard to propel himself back at the two men, who were now perfectly aligned diagonally. With his two legs perfectly symmetrical, he hit the first, and knocked him forwards, straight into his comrade.

 _This guy is insanely strong, lightning fast and 100% precise. No wonder his name is feared all over the Japanese crime underworld…_

But she quickly turned as more eruptions of violence occurred. Three other gang members, both scared and angry, attacked him again. The man seemed to almost sigh, and, as the two who were both throwing a punch at him simultaneously, he ducked and slid, cleanly tripping the man facing him head on, sending him hurling forward. I almost grimaced as the two punches connected with the third man's head from both sides. As the two men stood both perplexed and horrified, he swept away the feet of the man nearer to him, and then jumped into the air, smashing the other in the face with his knee, before flipping backwards and completing a 360 degree turn with his other knee pummelling the first, who was lying on his back on the floor, straight in the face.

 _Another three down. Where does he get these moves from?!_

The hero stood up in front of me and the remaining nine gangsters. He made a forceful gesture, waving his hand behind him towards the exit of the alleyway. He was probably telling them to leave while they could. And that they did. All of them, including the leader, ran as fast as they could. And I just stood there dumbstruck. Suddenly, I felt blood seeping into my eye.

 _Damn...I forgot about my wound._

I could now feel the full brunt of the pain. It stung, and my vision was blinded by the stream of red. I suddenly felt weary. Perhaps it had been The Azure Death's aura, but whatever force I had been holding in my body had left now.

 _Speaking about The Azure Death …Wait, is he gone?_

Suddenly I felt hands wrap around my face from behind. I don't know what they were doing exactly, but I could feel the blood flow stopping, and my wound being cleaned. And the hands… they were so warm. I felt comfort emanating from them, even through gloves. All this was done without a word, until they abruptly stopped.

"Get some rest. I have stopped the blood flow, but your body is still tired."

I froze, and looked behind me. But the Azure Death had turned around, and his back was towards me. Then he moved to face me, and his eyes met mine. Suddenly my legs were jelly. There were warm but dangerous, and I felt insignificant under their gaze. This was true power. Then he turned back the right way, and took off like a gust of wind into the night sky.

The Azure Death, who had never uttered a word before, had spoken to me. But that wasn't what shocked me the most. It was his voice.

His voice…was that of a teenager…

A teenager only about one or two years older than me.

 **/**

 **A/N- Hope you enjoyed. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Also, I know that this is only the first chapter, but it may take some time for the next chapter to come out.**

 **Thank you,**

 **Cherries of the Perdition**


	2. Chapter 2- Repercussions

Last night I returned on the same bus that I usually do. It seemed almost identical to the trip I had taken to my workplace. The same bus. The same seats in front of me. Even the same driver. Yes, everything was normal, calm and undisturbed.

On the outside.

Inside my head, my thoughts and emotions had been rolling in a giant storm, obscuring everything and ripping up foundations of rationality like a hurricane rips up trees. And what was the eye of the storm?

More like _whom_.

The Azure Death had dominated the chaos. The more I thought about him, the more confused I became. The media had cast him as a man 25-30 years of age, but I was convinced from his voice that he was a teenager. I could still feel the power tingling on my skin, and knowing that it came from someone who wasn't even an adult did nothing to ease my mind.

 **/**

Before long I had returned home, and I retired to my room. It was actually supposed to be the girls' room, but as usual, Midorikawa had crawled out of her allocated bed and into Hiroto's. The cut above my left eye was dully throbbing again- the quick treatment from The Azure Death seemed now to have consisted more of painkillers and disinfectants than of real healing medicines. He seemed confident that I would obey his imperative and rest well.

Well, what could I do?

I quickly changed, not bothered to shower, in case I began to think about mind-stressing topics again, and collapsed on top of my bed, throwing the covers haphazardly over me. Sleep came fast, and the last thing I remembered before falling into darkness were the powerful eyes of the covert vigilante who had saved me that day.

And who would change my life...

 **/**

"WAKE UP SUZUNO-SAN! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes as I got up from bed.

"What do you me-"

"LOOK AT THE GODDAMN TIME!"

I sighed and reached for my clock. I never overslept, and Midori-san had probably changed her clock to the German time coordinates or something like that by accident again. _8.45._

I brushed my messy hair out of my field of vision. _8.45._

I rubbed my eyes again. _8.45._

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

I jumped out of my bed, and quickly ran to my wardrobe.

 **/**

Soon I was dressed, and I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. It took fifteen to twenty minutes to walk to school, which could be shortened to ten minutes at a running pace, so I had used one minute and nine seconds out of about five minutes. Along the way, I quickly popped a piece of toast in the toaster, so I could have an, albeit meagre, breakfast. I heard Midori-san screaming at Hiroto-kun.

"HIROTO!"

"Yes, my darling Midorikawa-san?"

"DON'T YOU 'MY DARLING' ME RIGHT NOW! GET UP THIS INSTANT! WE'RE LATE!"

"Whatever you say, my darling."

I sighed and looked at the time. _8.48_. I had waited enough. I ran into Hiroto's bedroom, having finished in the toilet.

"HIROTO!"

"Yes, my dear friend Suzuno-san?!"

Midorikawa and I looked at each other. We huffed in a deep breath.

"GET UP!"

 **/**

At 8.49, Hiroto was finally finished. It was a good thing that he was so careless in his preparation, otherwise we would have been dead.

"Wait, I have to get my bag."

The sight of Hiroto-kun loitering out of the room, whistling as he went to the living room to get his school bag drove me mad AGAIN.

"HURRY UP!"

And at that he finally ran. When he came back, he had his bag slung around his shoulder, and was wielding a piece of hardened slate.

"Wait, what are you doing Hiroto? We use textbooks now, not writing slates."

He looked confused, before looking at his hand.

"Oh, this? No, this is someone's toast I found burning in the toaster. We wouldn't want a house fire now, would we?"

I froze, before dropping to the ground, clutching at my knees in anguish.

"MY TOA-AAST!"

 **/**

Midori-san and I ran like it was Black Friday, with Hiroto, who took about twenty-five hours to finally wake up properly, lagging a bit behind. Soon we reached the gates of the school, a bit after I finished mourning my toast (which was in my stomach being digested, by that time). Midori-san finished the last of the three hundred sweets she had taken out of the smallest pocket in the school uniform for breakfast ( _seriously, I have always wondered how she fits so many in. If I tried to fit in a quarter of the amount of sweets she keeps inside the smallest pocket into the largest one people would ship me off to some 'inter-global juvenile pregnancy rehabilitation camp', or someplace like that_.)

 **/**

We walked into our maths classroom at 9.01 for our first lesson. Our teacher, Mr Motetada, frowned when he saw us.

"Suzuno, Midorikawa, Hiroto! Do you know what time it is?"

"Sorry, Mr Motetada. It won't happen again." we all mumbled in unison.

"It better not happen again! This is the first time that you have ever been late to my class, and I hope you will ensure that it is your last!"

We hastily nodded. He sighed.

"All right class, us I was saying before these ragamuffins interrupted me, we, as the top set in maths, will be taking our autumn assessments one week earlier than the rest. Bring out your pencils and erasers; the test will begin at 9.05. You have one hour and fifteen minutes. Do bear in mind that this will be the score which will determine your position on the seasonal table of academic scores. I expect you all to do well. Good luck."

I sighed. It really shouldn't be that challenging of a test, judging by the revision packets we got, but I would've still liked a bit more time to polish my separate topics up. The class groaned. Hiroto visibly gulped, sweating profusely. And Midorikawa?

Yep, she looked like all the sweets she had eaten for breakfast had just come out in a cataclysmic torrent of diarrhoea.

 **/**

Thirty-five minutes into the test, I handed my paper in. It had been even easier than I had predicted, and I had no problem breezing through it. The class stared as the teacher didn't even look up, taking my paper in and putting it on his desk.

"Well done Suzuno. Please return to your seat and read a book without making any noise. If you wish, you can go to the library to find one."

I nodded curtly and opened the door to the classroom, stepping outside. The library was at only the other end of the corridor; besides, in my haste to get to school I left my book at home.

As I walked in I was greeted with the familiar smell of dust and old books, which, oddly, had become quite endearing to me. I loved reading, and our school library was pretty high standard, so I had spent a lot of my time in it since I first joined the school. Unfortunately, that also meant that I had read most of the books, so it took time to find one I hadn't before. Suddenly I noticed a book, quite old and with a simple binding and cover.

 _The Book of the Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi._

I frowned. I had heard neither of the book nor the writer. I decided to pick it up, alongside another biography of Musashi himself.

 **/**

When I got back to the classroom I sat down in my seat calmly, before beginning to read the biography of Musashi. It turned out that Musashi was an invincible _ronin_ , who was hailed as one of the greatest warriors of all time due to his unbeatable swordsmanship.

I sighed. Ancient warriors were not really my thing, so the book really had no entertainment value in my eyes.

But I had underestimated its true influence on me…

As I sat there with nothing to do, looking out the window, I suddenly noticed that one patch of the blue sky I was staring into had turned a shade lighter. And it was rippling too, like a…

…cloak?

I groaned quietly. The Azure Death seemed like he was back to haunt my mind. I thought back to what I had dreamt last night. At first, it would have difficult to describe what it had felt like.

 **/**

It had started off with a plain background of the colour azure. But then, soon enough, a set of eyes appeared. Even in my dreaming state back then, my subconscious mind had easily identified it as the eyes of the vigilante who had saved just a few hours earlier. While the sea-blue background had served to calm me, these eyes both frightened and invigorated me simultaneously.

But I would have been absolutely fine if that was all there was to it.

Suddenly the scene had changed, and I found myself in pitch darkness. It was as if I was looking from the perspective of an unknown observer, and I could see my own figure standing there looking confused and lost.

And then the room lit up. There were suddenly countless copies of the same pair of eyes, and I found myself back in the first person point of view again. Wherever I turned they were looking at me, until I stopped slowly revolving around on the same spot like an old grandfather clock. Then the pair which was directly facing my eyes seemed to glow once more, and I found myself hypnotised.

Abruptly, I had felt my knees buckling. I collapsed instantly on the ground, and I felt my legs shaking uncontrollably.

And then the waves of ecstasy had hit. It felt as if the same hands which had nonchalantly dressed my wound were roaming all over my body, and I found myself gasping in pleasure. As I lay there I felt pleasure like I had never experienced before, and the hands touched me where nobody had ever touched.

 **/**

I came out of the flashback of my dream and I realised that my face was burning; I could feel myself panting uncontrollably. It seemed however, that out of the others, who were still sitting the test, nobody had noticed. I frowned to myself after regaining control of my body. I just couldn't understand how someone I knew literally _nothing_ about could invoke such emotions in me- I had never been romantically interested in anyone before, and it was beyond bewildering that my first love would be some covert liberator I had never even spoken to.

Wait, no. Something sounded wrong there.

Yes. It could not have been love, and this time I agreed with myself for the first time since that fateful event. It was too illogical, and too much lacking a sensible basis for it to be love. It was more like…

…More like an irrational infatuation.

 **/**

Before long everybody finally finished their papers, and I placed the Musashi books in my bag so I could read them later in the evening. After Maths we had Japanese class, which went on for another forty-minutes. Now it's break time, and I walked out to the school yard with Hiroto and Midorikawa.

"Eugh. I still can't believe Mr Motetada made us take our maths paper early. I didn't revise any-thing!" was the first thing Midorikawa said as soon as we stepped out of the building.

"Don't worry, darling. You'll be fine." Hiroto was quick to reassure her, though he also looked slightly annoyed.

"Do you know how hard I had to work for my ranking on the seasonal table of exam scores? And now it has just all gone down the drain! It wasn't even because I wasn't good enough. It was because I didn't revise! Gah! So-o annoy-ing!"

"Come on Midori-san. Don't forget the faces of the rest of our classmates when they found out we had our exam early. I highly doubt anybody got more than a few minutes of revision time in. Anyway, it's too late to regret now. Trust your mathematical ability. You're in the highest set for a reason, you know."

"Yeah. Suzuno is right. And don't forget that your score on the seasonal table is the total of your scores throughout all of the subjects. We should probably focus on revising our other subjects better instead of moping around sulking. And maths is one of your worse subjects, isn't it?"

"Hmph. Well, I'm still not happy. And anyway, how in the world did you finish your paper so fast, Suzu-chan?"

I shrugged. "I looked over the material last night. We studied each topic for more than one lesson, anyway, and my memory isn't bad."

Right then we saw Osamu and Reina approaching us, signalling the end to our conversation.

"Hello Dezzy. Good morning, 'Vida," we greeted.

"Hey. How are you guys doing?" Ulvida replied.

"Horrible. We just had to take our autumnal maths assessment one week early. One whole week! And we weren't even told, so I didn't revise at all!" Midori-san was gloomy all over again.

"Oh haha. I remember when Dezzy and I took our autumnal assessments in maths last year. Our teacher fell off his bike and sprained his ankle badly, or something like that, so we had an extra week to revise."

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I NEEDED TO HEAR THAT!" Midorikawa was in full emo mood now. Everyone sweatdropped at the waves of depression emanating from the green-haired girl. It seemed like a good time to change the conversation, so I chose that moment to step in.

"Ahem, sorry to leave right now, but I want to take a walk around so I think I will go out of our campus for the remaining break time. See you guys later."

"Bye." They all waved their hands as I walked towards the school gates. During break and lunch students were allowed to leave the grounds as long as they stayed within an area of a one-mile radius and returned for lessons on time. I was not lying when I said that I had wanted to take a walk around. I had only been half-concentrating on the conversation and I had found the other half of my brain drifting to the Azure Death yet again. I was spending my time lost in my own thoughts and I nearly walked past the place I had wanted to visit.

Quickly turning around I looked at the familiar sign. _Mitsu's Caf_ _é_ _and Sweet Store. Open 24 hrs._ As I walked in I was greeted with the twinkling chime of the bell on the door. I sighed in appreciation. I had always loved the place. It was homely, the owner was extremely nice and I could go there whenever I wanted. Even though it was called a food store it did not limit itself to exclusively selling food; it always seemed to have the perfect thing for me. I walked to the counter.

"Oh hello Suzuno-san. What do you want today? The regular?" The owner was a handsome young man, though still much too old for me, called Mitsunari.

"I think I'll pass. My mind is currently quite unsettled so I think I should mix things up. Hit me with today's special, please, Mitsu."

"No problem! Today we have a chocolate strawberry waffle with grapefruit bubble tea. Freshly baked!"

"Sounds delicious! Thanks!" I wasn't lying. My mouth was watering like crazy and just the thought of the freshly baked dough with the thick chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries seemed to melt away any thoughts of the Azure Death for a short time.

Before long it was done and he came out holding the food and drink. He handed them to me and then suddenly reached under his counter, pulling out a newspaper.

"Here. I know you like to read your daily newspapers, so I saved one for you. The Azure Death was on the headlines again and the stack sold like crazy. This was the last one. I swear if the guy keeps doing what he does we might as well convert into a newspaper store!" he laughed jovially and handed me the paper.

The Azure Death again. I took the paper, without showing any emotion, and looked at the headline. _The Azure Death is not Resting! Police round up criminals as this anti-hero saves yet another person!_

I suddenly hesitated, realising that the person he had saved was me. Then I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and thanked him before going to my purse to get out the money to pay him. When he saw what I was doing he shook his head gently.

"Don't worry about it. I hope you can understand that I mean no offence when I say this, but in all honesty I have seen you looking better. Take it as a gift from me today." I stopped, before reluctantly putting the money back inside my purse.

"Thank you very much, Mitsu-chan."

"No problem! Get better soon!"

"Okay. Bye!"

 **/**

By the time I walked back through the school gates, licking the last remnants of the waffle and slurping up the last drops of my drink, the plaguing thoughts of the Azure Death and my extremely… strange dream had all but vanished. His significant role in the story of my life, however, had far from ended…

 **A/N- I'm very sorry that this useless filler took so long to post, but I hope you have all had a wonderful summer. Next chapter should be out much sooner, and also, I hope, more interesting, but, knowing myself, I will not make any promises.**


	3. Chapter 3- The Cafe

**Chapter 3: The Cafe**

After my content affair with my snacks from Mitsu's Café, the rest of the day passed pretty calmly. In fact, I was able to sit through the English, Chemistry and Physics classes, and even the Physical Ed. Class, without more than half a sparing thought about the Azure Death. Before I knew it, school was over for the day and I was outside the school gates waiting for my friends. I saw Desarm and Ulvida walking hand-in-hand towards me. When they got to me, Ulvida smiled.

"Hey, Suzuno-san! You're looking much better than when I saw you at breaktime!" I grinned and rubbed my head.

 _Why does everybody have to tell me how bad I look or was looking? Such rude specimens…_

…

…

 _(Just kidding)_

I then saw Midorikawa and Hiroto walking out while snogging each other. I felt like I was invading their privacy, watching such an aggressive snog, so I turned to Dezzy and 'Vida, who were normally more… _controlled_.

Desarm was groping Ulvida.

…

 _(Just kidding)_.

And as I watched two couples practically having sex out of both ends of my peripheral vision, I sighed to myself.

 _Aahh… the woes of being single…_

Finally, they got out of their romantic trances. I stood there with a poker face.

"Hello guys…"

"Hello Suzuno-san! You know, you have been looking much better since you came back from Mitsu's."

…

"Thank you." Hiroto seemed to think I was being genuine.

"No problem! Oh, and while we're at it, be ready, because we are going to be having dinner outside today!" Midorikawa seemed excited at the prospect.

"Oh really?! Where is it?"

"That's a surprise."

"Lemme guess!"

" _sigh_ Ok then, you can try."

"Yay! Is it somewhere we have been before?"

"Nope."

"Whaaa? That's cheating! How am I supposed to guess now?"

" _sigh_ You can't."

And Dezzy, 'Vida and I watched as Midorikawa stood there pouting, with half a smile on our lips. I interjected.

"Ok then. I need to help Rhione and Clara with something first, so I will come back to the place later around the right time to get changed. What time will you and Midorikawa be leaving?"

"Around 6.30."

"Ok then. I'll be back around 6.15."

"Sure."

Desarm also chimed in.

"Ok, we'll go too, but we won't be able to stay that long."

"Great! See you all soon!"

"Bye."

 **/**

I strolled towards the library, where I was meeting Rhionne and Clara. They were two friends of ours, although they were actually closer to me, and they had asked for some help on some work they had to do and revision for the exams. As IO entered the room, I saw that they were already there.

"Hello Rhionne, hello Clara." I greeted.

"Hello!" It was always good to see them. It was the one time I didn't feel like a third wheel…

…

I looked up. Clara seemed to want to say something, and the same for Rhionne; so I gave them the signal that I was listening.

"Uhmmm, Suzuno-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Rhionne and I jut wanted to tell you that…"

"Yeah?"

"We're in a… relationship. We got together three days ago."

…

…

I jumped out the nearest window.

"JUST KIDDING!"

I hooked one of my feet to the window ledge so I didn't have to endure a fall which would break half the bones in my body. Slowly, but surely, I hoisted myself back up to the window ledge, making sure they saw a proper, full-on, frontal view of the rude hand gestures I was making towards them. They only laughed. and waited patiently for me to make my way to where they were now sitting.

"AHHAHAHAHAHA! YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACE!" Finally Clara seemed unable to stop herself.

"Shut up!"

"Ok, ok, that's enough now Clara." Good thing we had Rhionne's calmness. I was about to use some random teaching from _the Book of Five Rings_ to slice Clara in half, and that probably would not have turned out so well.

"Ok then…But it was funny."

"Shut up."

And as if to change the subject, Rhionne pulled out a newspaper. One look showed me that it was about the Azure Death, and I mentally groaned.

 _Azure Death Stops Rape of Teenage 'Girl' and Leads the Police to Convicted Drug Abusers on the Run_

That caught my eye. I suddenly realised that the article was probably about me.

"Interesting. Which area was it?"

"Good question. Let me check… Oh! It was in the area near the Sun Garden Orphanage!" Rhionne had unknowingly confirmed my suspicions. The police _weren't_ having a difficult time keeping up with him- in fact, it was almost impossible he was even trying to cover up his steps. He was just in and out, and he left the leftovers to the police with no apparent fear for his secret identity. Clara butted in, and I left her to talk with Rhionne for a bit.

"Oh… him again. He's everywhere these days, isn't he?"

"It's true."

"All the girls in my class keep gushing about him. A bit strange if you ask me…"

"Yeah, I know."

I was by this point eager to get out of the conversation. I checked the name of the newspaper and vowed to get a copy to read further later. I was planning to test myself and see just how much I could find about the Azure Death, but, in front of a nice social dinner and in the middle of a nice gathering with some of my best friends, I decided I wasn't going to burst my brain cells any further.

But then…

 _Azure Death Stops Rape of Teenage 'Girl' and Leads the Police to Convicted Drug Abusers on the Run…_

 _Azure Death Stops Rape of Teenage 'Girl' and Leads the Police to Convicted Drug Abusers on the Run…_

… _Teenage 'Girl'…_

' _Girl'…_

"WHICH PIECE OF SH*T EDITOR DECIDED TO PUT THESE INVERTED COMMAS?!"

…

"Uhh…Suzuno-san, what are you talking about?"

…

"Nevermind."

…

"Ok then."

…

"Ok come on guys. You ned to study for the exams, don't you?"  
"Ugh…Don't remind me…"

 **/**

I got back, as I promised, at 6.15. I knew that the antics of my embarrassing friend couples were going to be more than enough to cover any view of me, so I didn't bother to spend much time in my wardrobe, and picked something out almost haphazardly. I then went to the living room, where Midorikawa, looking pretty as ever, was waiting for Hiroto. She was wearing a green hoodie with a red t-shirt underneath and a denim skirt. I had an icy blue hoodie with a white shirt underneath, and I was wearing jeans. Finally Hiroto came out, wearing a chequered shirt, and jeans too. However, interestingly enough, he had his work jacket on (he worked as a waiter at a Butler Café). Midorikawa noticed it as well.

"Why are you wearing your work uniform, Hiroto?"

"You'll see."

"Ugh. Will you tell me anything today?"

"In time, yes."

"Ugh…"

I sighed, watching as Midorikawa stood there pouting yet again, and Hiroto seemed more pleased with himself then he probably ought to have been.

 **/**

We glanced up as we glanced at the sign. _My Princess Imouto_. Well okay then.

"Are you serious, Hiroto?"

"What? They're our sister caf , and my boss wanted me to visit them sometime. C'mon, at least we have some nice discount coupons." I huffed in resignation.

"Well okay then. At least you have tried; it shouldn't be that bad anyway." It was at this moment we took a sideways glance at Midori-chan.

She was blushing like a ripe tomato which had never seen sunglight before.  
"I-I've… heard of this… place."

…

Perhaps I would later need to take back my statement.

We walked in, and suddenly I was fearing the worst.

 **/**

Well as it turns out…

I, luckily, did not need to take back my statement.

The interior was actually pretty homely, and, compared to the living hell I had seen last time I had visited one of these places, it was nice and cute and, to my small pleasure, nice and pristine. Very well kept, actually.

"Okay then. Not too shabby." Hiroto looked smug at that comment. I swear we were unintentionally feeding his ego everyday…

"I told you! Now let's enjoy our meal, and our nice little coupon codes."

"Well fine then. Let's get this over and done with." It was at this moment that we took another sideways glance at Midori-chan.

…

She was still blushing like a ripe tomato which had never seen sunlight before. But this time, she had her eyes were fixated on a very real object.

Naturally, our eyes were quick to follow Midorikawa's. We saw that she was looking at a specific maid.

The maid had crimson red hair, and was wearing one of those typical maid outfits, with a large amount of bust. There were a large amount of men gathered around her, and they all seemed to be having way too large nosebleeds.

"I can't believe I can actually see her! Now this is the Fire Princess alright!"

"Yeah! I come everytime because of her! Nothing like a spicy Imouto after a long day at work, am I right?" The other mean chortled, and chorused a hearty 'Yeah!'.

I sweatdropped. I turned to look at Hiroto. He seemed to be having a revelation.

"Aaah… of course. She's here, isn't she?"

"Who?"

"The Fire Princess. She's really popular right now." Midorikawa butted right in.

"Wait, how do you know that Midori-chan?" Midorikawa blushed again.

"You should hear the way the boys in my class talk about her… So… weird…" I shook my head in self-annoyance. I should've guessed. Midorikawa had a pretty rowdy bunch of boys in her class.

"I see. Anyway, it doesn't matter, right? We'll just get seated."

"Sure thing." Hiroto gestured to one of the waitresses.

"Table for five please, Rean-chan."

"Ok, Hiroto-kun! A waiter will be here to serve you soon!"  
"Thanks, Rean!"


	4. Chapter 4- Nagumo Haruya

**A/N- Hello readers! It's been a long time hasn't it? Please forgive me for my writer's block, which stopped me from posting this chapter sooner. The next chapter should be out faster, but I won't make any promises; however, I DEFINITELY HAVE NOT ABANDONED THIS STORY! Keep your eyes peeled!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

We waited (Midorikawa and I slightly nervously) as the maids went to fetch our menu. Soon it was time for us to order.

"Hello! My name is Haruna, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hiroto from the brother café down the other street."

"Oh! I'm new, so I don't know many people around here yet, sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I know all of the other people anyway." Hiroto said that while glancing towards the _Fire Princess,_ who seemed relieved that her shift entertaining the older men was over.

Haruna seemed to catch what Hiroto was looking at, and giggled suddenly.

"Ah, the Fire Princess?"

"Well, I don't know her." Haruna giggled again at Hiroto's reply.

"Never mind. So what would you like to order, my pretty lady? You must be Hiroto here's girlfriend right?" Midorikawa slightly blushed- being a bit shy- and nodded, before clearing her throat.

"Ummm… Can I get a Rose Milk with extra garnish, and some Strawberry Cream Cakes please?" Haruna did a kind of cute roger sign, and then skipped right over my head, talking to Hiroto.

"And the Beau Prince himself?"

"Hmm… this all looks so good! Ok then, can I have a Mythical Melonade, and a Chocolate Krispy Cake please?"

"It would be my pleasure!" She turned her head, seemingly ready to walk away, but, only then, seemed to realise, to my chagrin, that there was a third person in the group.

"Uhh… my apologies, young man. What would you like to order?" A vein popped on the side of my head, but Midorikawa intervened before I gutted the maid for calling me male, holding me back.

"... I'll have an Ice Cream Soda, with a Blueberry Muffin please."

"No problem!" she turned to face all of us.

"Your orders will be ready soon! Please ring the bell on your desk if you need anything!" Hiroto smiled.

"Thank you, Haruna-san."

I watched as she moved away, still angry, but not necessarily at her, as it was sadly not surprising that someone had thought I was male. I took a look around, and saw that the only person not doing anything at that moment was the Fire Princess. Hiroto rang the bell, and she came. Before she arrived, however, Midorikawa told us that she didn't speak much, and therefore that trying to introduce himself to her was a lost cause for Hiroto; the latter seemed that he suddenly had to change plans for conversation.

"Hello! Would you mind showing us the way to the toilets?" The Fire Princess bowed- without speaking, as Midorikawa had said- and smiled." It was a lovely smile, except for some reason it felt strange to me; however, I decided to stay ready for when she inevitably decided to show me to the male toilets.

We followed her, and we got to the corner. She… smiled again, and indicated for Midorikawa and I to go to the right, and for Hiroto to go to the left; so we went to wash our hands before the meal.

It _had_ felt like something was wrong… and I knew when I found that the sign in the toilet was of a woman that something was indeed wrong.

… Somehow, the Fire Princess had known I was female?!

I let my head fall back and started laughing maniacally. This was the first time someone had known I was a girl as soon as they saw me (even Midori-chan had failed to recognise it when we first met at the orphanage). I was still giggling to myself by the time I finished washing my hands and was starting to leave the bathroom. Hiroto probably saw a strange sight when he met us walking back to our table. Happy Suzuno? And confused Midorikawa too.

 **/**

Before long, the food had come and it was time for the server to come to our table. We glanced up as the Fire Princess came up to us, holding our food quite impressively and confidently- I'm sure even Hiroto's arms would have collapsed carrying all that, and yet she was carrying it with ease.

She bowed and smiled again as our food was served. In all honesty, it looked amazing, even though we were technically having dessert as our main course. However, as she came closer, I noticed something extremely strange.

You see, I, sadly, also had the experience of using the same brand. Most people were lucky, so it wasn't necessary for them, but the naturally ungifted were sometimes reliant on the product. However, I did not expect a maid to wear them. It immediately set my alarm bells off, as I had never seen anybody else who needed them. So I decided do something strange.

I leaned very close to the face of the maid, and indeed, as _she_ blushed in what seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance, I saw what I thought I might see...

There was a visible line of moustache bristle.

I started laughing extremely loudly, and Hiroto and Midorikawa (as well as the maid) stared at me as if I were insane. However, I decided not to say anything about why I was laughing, and the entrance of Desarm and Ulvida was useful in covering up my motives, which I was going to reveal later. I quickly addressed them, watching the receding back of the maid.

"Hello guys!"

"Hey Suzuno! Sorry Osamu and I were late- we got... held up."

I didn't need a second glance at their strangely scruffy attire to guess at what they had been doing which had made them late, but Midorikawa asked anyway, because she was innocent.

"What were you doing?" Desarm and Ulvida blushed, and Desarm quickly answered.

"Uhhh… school project." Midorikawa seemed content with it.

"Ah ok! Hope it went well!" Hiroto and I cast a knowing glance at each other, and then at Desarm and Ulvida, but as the latter blushed, we decided to say nothing. The maid Haruna came bustling along again, and the three of us decided to wait until they got their meal to start eating.

She introduced herself in her usual (or so it seemed) over-cheerful way, and very soon Desarms' 'Count Drac Dark Forest Cake' and 'Nearly-alcohol Grape Juice', and Ulvida's 'Crazy Rainbow Milkshake' and 'Super Galactical Mooncake' arrived.

We all dug in, albeit somewhat hesitantly, but when the first bit of the muffin touched my mouth, I went straight up to heaven.

 _Sweet..._

 _Smooth..._

 _Creamy..._

 _Succulent..._

 _Thicc..._

And then I stopped because I realised I was sexualising my muffin.

…

-Anyway, it seemed my reaction was not unique, but after a few moments everybody recovered from their surprise… well, except Hiroto, that is, who just sat there looking way too smug and pleased with himself.

"See, I told you-"

"-Yeah, you can shut up."

"Ulvida, why are you so mean? Waaahh." Ulvida facepalmed and Midorikawa slapped Hiroto on the back of his head. Hiroto seemed to pause in midair for a moment, as if contemplating life.

"...Yeah I'm okay now."

Everybody facepalmed.

I decided to change the subject at this moment.

"Ehmmm… so, 'Vida, why were you late again? Tripped up by some... _Evening Wood_...were you?" I said, waggling my eyebrow at Ulvida and Desarm. Ulvida yelped and Desarm's face lit up like a tomato; meanwhile Hiroto was in emo mood and groaning about how it was the worst innuendo he had ever heard. But of course, Midorikawa was innocent, so she chirped up.

"Oh no, 'Vida, you fell? Are you okay?"

"Uhh… yeah... I'm okay now.

"Really? I've learnt First Aid! Do you want me to help?"

Everybody other than Midorikawa sweatdropped. Suddenly, right at that moment, Haruna came back.

"How is it, guys? Enjoying it?" Hiroto smiled.

"Delicious, thanks Haruna-san. To be honest if I didn't have to advertise my own workplace I would for sure say that the food is better here." Haruna giggled at that.

"Thank you! I see the Fire Princess' Recipes are as mean as ever." I raised an eyebrow.

"These recipes are… _her_ recipes?"

"Mhmm, sure are! She used to be a cook before she started servicing. Sadly now that means she can't make food anymore, but the tips and customers we get from her are more than enough compensation."

"Ah, I see."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was nearing the time for the restaurant, which had to close early that day, to start shutting the doors and kicking us out. Sadly though, the café was far from empty: if not for the abnormal circumstances, it would be the busiest time of all, and it seemed that, with lots of men coming in from their jobs, we would be treated to the side of the Maid Café which Midorikawa and I (as well as Desarm and Ulvida) did not want to see.

It was time for the _My Princess Imouto Maid Show_.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation as the maids came out wearing their… weird… outfits and the lights suddenly turned pink. At the front of the line was, to no surprise, the Fire Princess, and she took the area in the center of the café marked by a huge sequined heart on the floor, in front of which a large- no, scratch that- gigantic huddle of men were already seated.

It seemed that, other than the three maids forming the 'chorus' behind the Fire Princess, the others were assigned to the rest of the tables. We had Haruna, who looked slightly embarrassed to be wearing her outfit, but not necessarily as if she hadn't done it before.

"Sorry about this guys, but I'm the maid assigned to your table today! If you don't like this kind of thing that much, then please feel free to avert your eyes." Hiroto smiled at her.

"No need. I'm okay with this sort of thing. Good luck!" Haruna blushed nervously.

"Thanks… I'm still relatively new here I'm still not used to doing this show. I hope I'm not too bad." I put a thumbs up at her.

"Don't worry about it. We won't mind at all." Haruna seemed shocked as if she hadn't seen me before (like that would happen…) but then nodded.

Haruna, apparently, wasn't half bad at this thing; she danced very well for someone whom I had taken to be rather clumsy. Desarm, who did not fare well in these situations (him proposing to Ulvida took an age, but that is a story for another time) did not like it at all, and had to be saved by Ulvida holding his hand. But, other than him, all of us were not too uncomfortable, and we came out in one piece.

Haruna came over, having gone to the center of the stage with all the other maids for the finale, again blushing, but quite happy, it seemed.

"I hope you guys enjoyed that!" Midorikawa chipped in to reply this time.

"It was great! You should show me how you dance like that!" Ulvida nodded, and I smiled to, although I knew that I was absolutely hopeless at dancing.

"Thanks! I'll do my best then!"

"So is it time to go now, then?"

"Yeah. just about. We apologise for the early closure today."

"Nah, that's okay- happens sometimes at our café too." Ulvida and Desarm got up, and Desarm spoke.

"Sorry, but we have to leave now. We have uh… a school project." I smirked deviously.

"Oh no, leaving so soon after the show? This project must be… _hard_." I raised my eyebrow at Desarm, who yelped and went red again. Ulvida also blushed, glaring at me heavily- to which I shrugged my shoulders innocently. Hiroto, who was again moaning about how bad my innuendos were, jumped in before Midorikawa could.

"...Well, anyway, see you then, guys." Midorikawa, who had been about to ask a question, nodded.

"Bye then. Are you sure you don't need us to pay?"

"Nah, it's alright, this is on me."

"Well, thanks then. Thank you very much, Haruna-chan. Have a good evening guys!" Haruna, Hiroto and I nodded and smiled, and Midorikawa said way too loudly "Byeee guyyyss!"

We watched their back disappearing for a second after their last wave, and then we turned back to Haruna again, ready to tidy our stuff and leave too.

"Thank you very much for today, Haruna."

"No, thank you, Hiroto. I haven't had such fun at work before! If only all customers were like you…" Midorikawa giggled.

"Now, before we leave, could you please show us some of those maid moves? I'll try them on Hiroto after his soccer practice (as if Hiroto wasn't thick enough already, after the physical labour his sports training entailed, he was so brain-dead he was basically drunk)." I interjected.

"Or, better, Hiroto can try it on Osamu!"

"Hey, Suzuno, that sounds like a good idea! Desarm's face will be priceless! Haruna, is that okay?"

"Uhm… sure thing!"

Haruna gestured for Midorikawa and Hirototo join her where she was standing, and prepared to show them her moves.

She was just on the bit with some dodgy twerking when suddenly a guy wearing weird goggles walked in. He seemed to look around for a bit, before staring at our table. I could see out of my peripheral vision that his left vein was popping dangerously, and I could practically feel the steam coming out of his ears. He marched briskly over, and began to yell loudly.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER, YOU INDECENT MEN?!" I sweatdropped. But Hiroto, who had an inability to tell when people were annoyed, chimed in.

"Baka baka, this is a Maid Café! Have a little fun!"

The man was even angrier.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, CALLING ME AN IDIOT?! I HAVE WON THE INTER-JAPAN MATHS CHALLENGE, THE YOUNG CHEMIST'S AWARD, THE FRANÇOIS-FRANÇOIS FRENCH AWARD, THE BIOLOGY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN OF ALL AGES AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A PONYTAIL OF A LENGTH GREATER THAN 20 INCHES, THE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S LEFT KNEE ENGLISH LITERATURE CHALLENGE, THE UNDER 15 YEARS AND 57 DAYS OLD PHYSICS CHALLENGE-"

"Hahahahahahaha you must have a feather quill stuck up your arse ahahahahahahahaha-" Hiroto was now on the floor clutching his stomach with tears in his eyes. I was stuck myself between laughing and being confused, and Haruna looked embarrassed, although not surprised: I guessed that it must have been a regular occurence.

"THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH WITH YOU PEOPLE! YOU HAVE NO LIFE, NO BRAIN, NO BRAWN, SO YOU SATISFY YOURSELF WITH THESE PERVY VENTURES. PREYING UPON MY CUTE INNOCENT SISTER! YOU- YOU PROLONG MY PERIOD, YOU MAINTAIN MY MENOPAUSE, YOU LENGTHEN MY LABOR… YOU-"

 _Bonk_

I watched with as much bemusement as I had ever felt while the goggles guy collapsed suddenly, with a large swell on the back of his head. It looked like the Fire Princess, who had been collecting customers' plates on a metal tray, had purposefully knocked him in the head with it from behind her back. Hiroto and Midorikawa fell down anime style. Haruna sweatdropped, and then sighed, as if this was not an uncommon occurrence.

"Eh... sorry about that guys…"

"... It's ok."

"My brother is normally quite a nice guy, but whenever it comes to me for some reason his mind warps strangely." The word _siscon_ hovered on all our lips, unspoken but obviously appropriate.

"- Anyway -"

"Ehem, so, can you bring us our bill now?"

"Okay, sure!" Haruna quickly went back to the kitchen, and emerged seconds later, placing the sheet of paper on our table.

"Thanks!" Hiroto took the bill and fished inside his bag for his wallet, humming happily.

But then he stopped humming.

He peered his eye into the pocket.

He stuck his head in his pocket.

His hand rummaged and I could hear keys jingling around.

…

"It appears… I have forgotten my wallet." Midorikawa slapped her forehead loudly and I could feel my left vein ready to burst at any second.

"WHAAAT?!"

"I… forgot my wallet. Did you guys bring yours?"

"NO! YOU SAID IT WAS ON YOU, SO I LEFT MINE AT THE HOUSE!"

"Same as Suzuno-san." Hiroto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and I sighed in annoyance.

"Ok then, you and Midorikawa go back to the house-"

"I don't have any money for the taxi. I don't have my bus card either." My left vein was very, very close.

"Walk back then! I will stay here at the Café and help them tidy up while you guys get the money."

"...Oh ok, thanks a lot Suzuno-san."

"JUST HURRY UP!"

"O-ok!"

And with that the two of them practically ran from the Café doors. I rubbed my forehead in annoyance, but decided it wasn't fair to take it out on Haruna.

"Sorry about that, Haruna-chan."

"You didn't really need to pay, you know? It could've been on me."

"No, it couldn't. It's not your fault Hiroto's skull is so thick, and you most certainly will not lose any money over it."

"...Okay then, thanks a lot Suzuno-san. I'm afraid I will have to take my leave though." I suddenly glanced at the motionless lump on the floor that was goggles guy -no wait- her brother. As I watched, she quickly pulled up his arm and began to drag him on the floor out of the door. But, before she left, she remembered something.

"Oh yeah, you will be doing the tidying up with the Fire Princess, as she's the only one who stays today." I raised my eyebrow at that.

"Let me take you to her." I followed her and walked into the kitchen, where the Fire Princess was sorting out some change.

"Uh… Fire- Princess-san, we had customers who… forgot to take money (my eye twitched) so they left one of them to stay here and help tidy up while they went back to get the money. Do you mind if she helps?"

The Fire Princess paused as if surprised, and her expressions were unreadable for a second before she shrugged and nodded.

"...Well, that's great! I do really need to go now though, so bye bye!" I smiled.

"Bye." the Fire Princess waved to, to my surprise.

And we watched as she receded into the distance towards the exit door and dragged her brother along the floor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We had been working in silence for the first two minutes, but soon my curiosity overcame me.

"You're a boy, aren't you?" The Fire Princess dropped the plate _he_ was holding.

...

"...What makes you say that?"

"Well, you have mustache bristle unlike that any normal female would have, you never really speak- probably in order to not reveal the masculine voice I just heard, and you really don't seem to like what those men do to you."

...

"Oh, and also, your physique is strange for a female, and anyway, all those buff girls with muscle definition close to yours tend to have large breasts, and thus don't have to use those boob pads you're wearing right now." The Fire Princess blushed furiously, before grumbling.

"F ck it."

I blushed furiously as he suddenly stripped off his dress and breast pads to reveal… an extremely muscular and well defined chest. I nearly drooled, before shaking my head in annoyance and getting angry again like I should have.

"CAN YOU PUT SOME CLOTHES, ON, YOU- TULIP-HEAD?!"

…

"...What did you call me?"

"I CALLED YOU A TULIP-HEAD, YOU BAKA!"

"F CK YOU! DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT YOU REVERSE-TRAP!"

"OH, NOW YOU WANT IT, DON'T YOU, TULIP-HEAD?!"

"IT'S A FLAME, YOU ICE-BITCH!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME? AND, NO, THAT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A GODDAMN FLAME AT ALL! IT LOOKS LIKE A TULIP."

"ICE-BITCH!"  
"TULIP-HEAD"

"ICE-BITCH! ICE-BITCH! ICE BITCH! ICE BITCH!"

"TULIP-HEAD! TULIP-HEAD! TULIP-HEAD! TULIP-HEAD!"

Tulip-head and I both suddenly realised that we were being quite childish, and turned our backs to each other and rubbed our foreheads in annoyance. It seemed we both decided to start washing in silence again, and we continued like that for another two minutes.

"So, what is your actual name?"

"... Nagumo Haruya. And yours?"

"Suzuno Fuusuke. Now, would you mind putting on your shirt?" We both blushed heavily and he muttered a _sorry_ as he put on a casual checkered shirt.

Wanting to change the subject, I quickly moved on.

"So how come you ended up dressing up as a girl at a Maid Café? I grinned slightly as he blushed in annoyance.

"Well, when I was about 10 years old both my parents died mysteriously, leaving me and my 1-year old brother alone." My smile dropped. So he was an orphan like us.

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay, but thanks. Well anyway, my uncle, who is very busy, luckily was able to take us in. He is a very nice man, but unfortunately he understandably was not prepared to take in kids and is thus quite busy. We live under his roof but I've been working for a long time at this café- which he owns- and doing other jobs to try and earn money for my brother and I and take some weight off my uncle's shoulders."

So it seemed that he probably had it harder than us. We had been lucky, and had been picked up by Father and Hitomiko-nee, who gave us everything until we were old enough to move out, which they gave us money to do. It seemed that this hothead tsundere had more in him after all.

"Is your younger brother well?" I saw that his gaze immediately softened, which I found quite cute. He did have a big heart after all.

"Yeah. He's about to start a new school soon, and he's really excited."

"That's great."

"Yeah." He smiled gently into the distance, but then saw that I was looking at him, and blushed in embarrassment.

"W-what are you looking at?!" I stopped smiling in case I angered his inner tsundere again.

"Nevermind. Well? You didn't fully answer my question." He growled at me and then continued.

"Yeah. Well anyway, while I was still the head cook ( I remembered Haruna saying that the recipes were his- he must be good a cooking to) we had a main maid who was becoming quite famous, and one day she had a really big show coming up. However, the night before, she got a surprise interview offer from a college she had been applying to, and had to whisk all the way down there in a train." He paused, and frowned as if remembering something he didn't really want to.

"The following day, we were all in a panic. With no other option, my uncle asked me to dress up as a girl and take her place as one of the supporting maids, while another more experienced maid played the main role." he again paused, and growled while holding his forehead and looking away.

"Well… it turns out that… for a rookie I was actually… relatively popular." I snorted.

"Really now?" He glared at me and I stopped snickering.

"-Anyway, soon after my uncle asked me to change my role in the café. I figured I owed him enough already, so I… agreed. Ah well, here I am."

Again I found myself impressed. You could've done all you wanted, but you would never get me to pose as a boy. And I already goddamn look like a boy!

"Ah, I see. Bad luck then." he huffed and sighed.

"Yeah. It's not your fault, and it's not so bad in the times when there aren't creepy perverts trying to grope you."

And so the time flew by, so fast that I didn't even realise that HIROTO AND MIDORIKAWA HAD NOT COME BACK! The last dish was stacked away, and the last chair was tucked in; Tulip-head went to put on his coat, ready to leave.

"I'm really sorry, but it appears my… friends… forgot to come back."

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. You helped a lot today, so um… thanks, I guess." he said, rubbing his head in embarrassment (I sighed internally at the tsundereness).

"No, I'll be back soon to return the money. Thanks. You're actually surprisingly good company." he blushed at that, before registering the second part.

"WHAT IS 'SURPRISINGLY' SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" I ignored his shout, of course.

"Anyway, if you'll excuse me… (the atmosphere darkened)... I need to attend to some certain idiots who are most definitely banging away right now." I saw him grimace a bit in what appeared to be nervousness.

"Ah, well, see you around. Come again!"

"Bye."

We turned in opposite directions to go out in separate directions. I had just walked a couple of steps when I suddenly heard footsteps running back.

"You know what, … uh, give me - no, would you mind if I took your number?" I raised my eyebrow, secretly blushing.

"... uhm, sure. My name is Suzuno Fuusuke. Here's my number." I handed him a note.

"... thanks. I'll send a message when I get back home. My name is Nagumo Haruya."

"Ok. I'll still call you Tulip-head though."

"WHO TOLD YOU YOU COULD DO THAT YOU ICE BITCH?!"

"I AM NOT AN ICE BITCH YOU… BUFF MAID!"

"SAYS THE REVERSE TRAP!"

"Hmph."

"Hmph."

We turned our backs to each other and walked away, both pouting. We walked a few steps.

"...Bye."

"...Bye."

We both left, each pretending to be angry. But I was actually smiling.

And I was still smiling by the time I got back to the flat. Little did I know that it was the same for a certain Tulip-head returning home to his younger brother.

I felt myself blush as I absentmindedly went in.

But then my blush disappeared.

"HIROTO! MIDORIKAWA!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 **From: Nagumo Haruya**

 **To: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:03**

 _Hi. This is Nagumo._

 **From: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **To: Nagumo Haruya**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:04**

 _Hi._

 **From: Nagumo Haruya**

 **To: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:04**

 _It's a bit late now, isn't it?_

 **From: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **To: Nagumo Haruya**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:04**

 _Yeah… maybe..._

 **From: Nagumo Haruya**

 **To: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:15**

 _Goodnight._

 **From: Suzuno Fuusuke**

 **To: Nagumo Haruya**

 **Subject:**

 **Time: 23:15**

 _Goodnight._


End file.
